Hip hotel and nightlife brand spreads across U.S., Middle East

Sbe, a hotel management company responsible for some of the most buzzed about hotels and nightlife venues, is expanding.

The company, founded and run by Sam Nazarian, has 10 newly confirmed deals for hotels, residences and restaurants in South America, the Middle East and Asia.

By 2021, the company’s portfolio will more than double in size to 50 hotels and residences.

SBE is known for such hotels as the boutique SLS, the Mondrian, Delano, and the Redbury. Its restaurants include celebrity chef Jose Andres’ The Bazaar, Katsuya, Umami Burger, and Cleo.

Its nightlife venues are Hyde and Skybar at Mondrian, among many others that usually have lines of people outside their door.

The company has a presence in New York, Miami, Los Angeles, and overseas.

Late last year, sbe acquired the Morgans Hotel Group, which owned the Mondrian brand.

Nazarian is now looking to get even bigger. Though he calls sbe a “small lifestyle” company, he is expanding it into places such as Mexico City and Doha in Qatar.

“We have a robust pipeline,” Nazarian says. “Our goal is very clear. We want to get 50 hotels open by 2021 which is a big feat for a small lifestyle company. And within those hotels we are going to be putting in all of our restaurants and lounges. It’s a multiplication effect.”

Nazarian believes that his company will be successful if it continues to provide more than just a place to sleep.

“It’s one box and the energy of tha–the operations, the continuity of the experience–it’s something that should be managed in harmony,” he says.

Many of the biggest hotel players, such as Marriott and Hilton, have created lifestyle brands but Nazarian says sbe will stand out because it doesn’t stray from that one sector.

“We are focused on that mindset, the culture of service, the culture of being on the cutting edge of delivering a 360-degree approach and not just worrying about heads and beds,” he says. “We feel the lifestyle space is really one that Is resonating with both Millennials and the luxury sector. People feel the authenticity of the way these properties are managed.”

The company plans to deliver that approach next month to its new SLS hotel at Baha Mar, the highly-anticipated hotel, entertainment, retail, casino and dining complex in the Bahamas. The resort had a partial opening this year after many years of delays due to financial issues.

“This will be a game-changer in how people view a mega-resort,” he says.

Sbe is continuing its expansion in North America with plans to manage an Originals in Los Angeles.

Other U.S. properties in the works are: SLS LUX Brickell in Miami, SLS Hotel & Residences Philadelphia, SLS Atlanta, and SLS Washington D.C.

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Sbe has already opened a 270-room Mondrian in Doha, Qatar, its first Middle East property. By 2020, it plans to open an SLS Doha with 200 rooms, 100 residences, 50 services apartments, and three restaurants.

The company has plans to open two new properties in Dubai, including a Mondrian in 2019 and Delano in 2018.

Sbe will also manage the The Sanderson Ortakӧy, which will launch in Istanbul.

The Mondrian Doha is sbe’s first property in the Middle East. (Photo: sbe)

In Latin America, sbe will manage SLS Mexico City Pedregal, a 150-room hotel in Mexico City. The new build will open in 2021.

The company has received approval for a 300-room hotel in Uruguay, the SLS Punta del Este Residences.

SLS Pilar Residences, with 173 residences, will open in 2020 in Buenos Aires.

The Mondrian brand will make its debut in Mexico in Playa del Carmen with a 100-room condominium hotel expected to open in 2021.

On the restaurant side, the company is going to expand its popular Umami Burger brand into Mexico. Deals are also in discussions in the Gulf region, including Dubai.

“It’s shown that a smaller lifestyle company can really become a global ambassador for some of these amazing U.S.-based brands,” he says.